Harpoon, The Whale

Time and time again, the University of Wyoming has been host to a great deal of well-known musical groups. This not only provides rich entertainment for students, but also big opportunities for musicians in Laramie.

Local band Harpoon, The Whale opened for indie group From Indian Lakes this week. Bassist Seth McGee could hardly contain himself before the show, as it was one of the biggest Harpoon has ever played.

“I’m incredibly excited. You could say I’m stoked times two, because From Indian Lakes is amazing,” said McGee.

In the past, the university has not had as many indie or alternative acts play on campus. This event, among others, is a result of the student organizations ASTEC and Studio Wyo looking for more variety.

“They’ve been pushing to have bands like this come more and more over the past couple years, and they’ve been successful,” McGee said. “I think that just by having other bands come here and perform, they realize that there’s an audience for this sort of thing.”

Although From Indian Lakes is not huge, they have proved themselves successful in the indie scene. The group is signed to Triple Crown Records with a steady 22,000 likes on Facebook. In the past, they have opened for bands like Relient K and The Maine.

From Indian Lakes is based in the Yosemite area of California and have never performed in Wyoming. Even so, in the 100 person audience, people could be seen smiling, bobbing their heads and singing along in unison with lead singer Joey Vannucchi. The crowd even chanted until the band came back for an encore after their hour-long set.

Vannucchi said that the entire band had a blast performing. They enjoyed the room and were surprised by the crowd’s enthusiasm. As for the rest of their tour, the group has some time off before they really hit the road.

“We have two and a half weeks off and then we are going on tour with a few bands until about Christmas,” Vannucchi said.

From Indian Lake’s new album Absent Sounds will be released on October 8th. Their first single, Ghosts, is available on www.fromindianlakes.com. - The Branding Iron